Our children's education should not be based on fads

The Houses of Parliament will be the venue today for the launch of a pioneering research centre which aims to shape the educational landscape in our schools. Here, Estelle Morris, the chairwoman of the strategy board of the Institute for Effective Education at the University of York, explains its ethos

Education is one of the most powerful instruments for human improvement, but for children, the spark of enthusiasm for learning too often flickers and dies. Despite the hard work of teachers and the improvements we have seen, too many young people are still let down by their schools and the education system. Delivering for the nation's children still remains a challenge for all of us.

Today sees the launch of an innovative research centre at the University of York which aims to develop a centre of excellence for evidence-based education.

The Institute for Effective Education (IEE) will develop, test and evaluate ideas on how to improve education. They will find out what works in teaching and learning, and why. The Institute, which will be both international and independent, will create a hub of evidence for education innovation by using innovative approaches and scientific evaluations similar to those in medicine.

The IEE's researchers will endeavour to transform the relationship between researchers, teachers and policy makers so that education is driven by evidence not opinion and fads.

The IEE'S plans include:

· Producing reviews of research on educational programmes and practices, with clear summaries in educator-friendly language. The IEE will create the 'Which?' magazine of education

· Developing and evaluating new approaches to teaching for pupils from pre-school to secondary school, including new forms of co-operative learning, new uses of technology, and new approaches to classroom assessment

· Working with education policymakers to encourage schools to use proven, effective programmes

The Institute will develop and evaluate new programmes and approaches to education, assemble a robust knowledge base, and make it publicly accessible. We shall work with schools, educators and policy makers, in the UK and throughout the world, to help them use evidence in making their decisions about education policy and practice. Our goal is to add substantially to the impact of evidence-based reform of pre-school through to secondary education.

We are bringing together an international staff of researchers, developers and reformers led by Professor Robert Slavin, a distinguished researcher from Johns Hopkins University in the USA. He has an established reputation for conducting rigorous experiments on co-operative learning (where children work in structured teams to help one another to learn), comprehensive school reform, literacy, mathematics, and English as a second language.

The IEE will be supported by a strategy board which will bring together staff from the University of York and experienced leaders from other parts of the education system.

Prof Slavin and his team will strive to make sure that the results of the IEE's research will make a real difference to the education of young people throughout the world.

I am convinced that the institute, established with a grant from the Bowland Charitable Trust, will make a substantial contribution to knowledge across a wide spectrum. It will initiate innovative research on literacy, language, numeracy, science learning, school improvement, school organisation, the deployment of educational resources and the relationship between effective learning and the family and socio-economic context.

The education of all of our children is too important to be left to fads and untested theories. The IEE will help educators know what works and use new knowledge to make more of a difference with their children.